


Wherein Loki Plays Some Tricks

by htonl



Series: Fluid in Form, Fluid in Mind [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Pregnant Horse Loki (Marvel), au where loki doesn't want the throne or stab thor or anything, loki is an asshole but we love him anyway, slepnir appears in the first movie so this must have happened at some point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 11:54:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15170198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/htonl/pseuds/htonl
Summary: Loki is the God of Mischief, and he likes playing tricks. Sometimes, his tricks have unforeseen consequences.





	Wherein Loki Plays Some Tricks

Loki peeked around the corner of the building. His brother, Thor, was bending down near a bush, trying to see under it. “Come on, little one,” he crooned. “I saw you go under this bush. I will not hurt you, I just really want to look at you. Your scales are gorgeous! So shiny and green… Surely you would not mind an admirer?”

Loki giggled, then clapped a hand over his mouth. His eyes above his hand were wide with excitement and mirth. When Thor’s back was turned, Loki sprang for a tree, getting smaller and greener as he went. By the time he landed, he was a snake. His tongue flickered in a reptilian laugh as he slithered out from among the roots and through Thor’s peripheral vision.

“There you are! How did you get over there?” Thor spun and picked the “snake” up, holding him carefully. “Wow, you are just as beautiful as I thought! Aw… you’re just a baby! How did you get all the way into Mother’s garden? Where is your nest, little one?” Thor carefully raised the snake up and looked it in the eye.

Loki couldn’t contain himself any longer. All of a sudden, Thor had an armful of brother. “Mblergh! It’s me!” Loki yelled, laughing. Thor yelped in surprise and went down, unable to hold his brother up.

“Loki!” Thor shouted. He shoved his brother off his chest. “You little snake, you scared me!”

Loki laughed harder. “You’re right! I _was_ the little snake! You should have seen your face!”

Thor pushed Loki over and stormed into the Palace. Loki could hear him shouting distantly as he ran. “Mother! Loki’s playing his tricks again!”

That had been a _wonderful_ trick! Loki ran after Thor, determined to tell Mother all about it. She would be so proud – he had transformed into a snake and back twice within five minutes! And maybe she would teach him some other magic that he could use for a trick. Maybe some illusions? He couldn’t _wait!_

\---

“Brother!” Thor shouted, barging into Loki’s chambers with nary a knock to announce himself. “What is the meaning of this?” He was brandishing a blacksmith’s hammer, in a manner that indicated he would gladly use it to knock in a skull or two if the inclination took him.

Loki lazily lolled her head in Thor’s direction from where she was lying upside-down on a couch, idly making a cup appear and disappear. “Well, I don’t know about any brother of yours, but that looks like a hammer. Perhaps it is meant to hit things?”

Thor, having finally located Loki, advanced menacingly. “My apologies, sister. But do not be sly with me! What was this hammer doing where my practice hammer should have been? What have you done with it?”

Loki dragged herself upright on the couch and affected a baffled air. “Me? Touch your precious practice weapons? I would never! Certainly not after the last time you threatened to bury me under Yggdrasil if I so much as gave them a glance!”

Thor growled in incoherent adolescent anger. “I _know_ you did it, Loki! You will tell me where you hid my hammer, or I will _make_ you tell me!”

Loki laughed, a sound of pure mischief. “You’ll have to catch me first!”

Suddenly, a cat stood where Loki had been sitting. The cat leapt to avoid Thor’s lunge – and ten cats landed on the floor, running in all directions.

Thor’s roar could be heard from the town square.

\---

Loki lounged, half-hidden, behind a pillar. The nobles of Asgard – those powerful enough to be deemed gods by the humans of Midgard – argued fiercely in the meeting hall of the Palace. They spoke over each other, each nearly shouting to be heard. The babble was loud enough to give Loki a headache. They could barely hear themself think.

“Enough!” shouted Odin. The gods quieted immediately. Loki wondered if the way their father’s voice carried was something that could be learned. The last time they had been to Midgard, they had heard of something called “voice throwing”; it seemed like a very useful trick.

Odin had been talking, while Loki had been woolgathering. They heard him say their name, and paid more attention.

“Loki is the one who convinced us to give this giant a chance. What has he to say?”

“Loki does not appear to be present,” noted Thor.

“Loki seldom appears to be anything that he is,” snorted Freyja. The Sun and the Moon stood behind her, looking furious. “Since Loki is responsible for getting us into this mess, Loki should be responsible for getting us out of it! We refuse to be taken away by that… that… _frost giant!_ ”

Loki sighed silently. As usual, everybody was five steps behind on their current gender. And how could they have known the giant would be such a fast builder? A full company of Asgardians couldn’t have built a wall around Asgard in one season, and this giant certainly shouldn’t have been able to either.

“Loki,” Odin said. His voice held a threat. “Show yourself.”

Loki rolled their eyes. An illusion of themself stepped around the pillar, while they snuck invisibly to Thor’s side.

“There you are, my son,” said Odin. “Have you anything to say for yourself?”

“Nothing, if you can’t even tell that I’m not your son today,” Loki responded, stepping forward and letting their illusion dissolve. Thor jumped. Loki smirked.

Odin gave Loki a look. It was a look that Loki knew well. It said, “You are my child and I love you but if you give me any more shit right now you will regret it with every bone in your mischief-loving body.”

Loki rolled their eyes again and turned to Freyja. “He is just one giant,” they said. “He should not be able to do what he has done. Without that horse of his, he would not _be_ doing it. I do not see how I can be held responsible for the man having a good horse. For that matter, you were the ones who made the bargain with him; I only introduced him to you.”

If looks could kill, Loki would be in Valhalla by now. Freyja spoke, every word so laced with malice that Loki could feel it like poison in their blood. “I do not care what work you think he should be able to accomplish. I do not care whether his success is due to his own merits or those of a flying ogre invisibly helping him. I most certainly do not care whether you feel responsible for this mess. If this giant finishes the wall tomorrow, I will break the gods’ word to him, and run to the ends of the Nine Realms to avoid his grasp. And when he has given up on finding me, I will hunt you down. I will tear you limb from limb, slowly. I will feed your limbs to my cats, while your pain-wracked torso watches helplessly. I will make sure you _never_ cause mischief again, because what _you_ deem as ‘tricks’ always hurts at least one of us, often irreparably. So fix this, God of Mischief, before I make you regret you were ever born.”

Freyja turned on her heel and stormed out of the hall, Sun and Moon close behind. Loki blinked. “No need to be rude about it,” they muttered, and turned to Odin.

“Allfather, if you would kindly prevent the Goddess of Beauty from dismembering me, I will go prevent the wall from being completed tomorrow. With your blessing.” Loki bowed. Odin considered for a moment, then gave a regal nod. Loki turned on their heel and walked invisibly out a side door, while an illusion of them strode through the giant double doors at the front of the hall.

\---

Thor caught up to them at the gates of the city. “So what is the plan, sibling?” he asked.

Loki kept walking, rather fast, towards the woods near where the giant was finishing the wall. “I’m not sure yet,” they said absently. “But are you sure Thor, the mighty warrior, wants to get mixed up in the doings of mere Loki, the Trickster? It is not very honorable.”

Thor gave a mighty laugh. “Of course it is not honorable! I knew that when I followed you out here. I can worry about honor and the field of fair play on my own time, sibling. This is your time, and you spend your time playing tricks. So? What trick will you play on this giant? How can I help?”

Loki gave Thor a grateful smile. They really did love the big oaf. They would have to remember to play their next trick on someone else. But for now… how to keep the wall from being finished?

“It can’t be obvious that someone is sabotaging construction,” they said. “That would violate the terms of the agreement, and the giant might well demand his prize anyway. Really, as I said in the hall, he has only been able to do so much so quickly because of his horse. I need to find some way to get his horse away from him...” As Loki spoke, her body shifted slightly – a rearrangement of organs and fat. Thor made a face.

“Loki, I appreciate that you are very good at shapeshifting, but you know I hate it when you do it while you are talking. Could you please refrain?”

Loki glanced down, startled. “Oh… apologies, brother. I seldom notice myself doing it when it’s a gender thing.” She paused, then looked back up at Thor, eyes sparkling and grin wide. “That is _perfect,_ brother! Thank you! I have _just_ the thing to get that horse away from the wall. Here is what we are going to do...”

\---

Technically speaking, Thor was the God of Thunder, not of storms; but thunder is born of the lightning in storms, and Thor could call up a beautiful thunderhead when he had a mind to. Luckily for Loki, Thor’s thunderheads always came with a stiff breeze.

Loki turned into a horse just inside the tree line. She wasn’t really sure what kind of thing stallions liked in a mare, but she did her best and trusted into the giant’s horse’s own instincts to do the rest. Once on four hooves, she pranced around, getting her scent on as many plants as possible. When Thor called up his lightning-filled cloud, the accompanying wind carried Loki’s scent straight to the stallion. His head pricked up immediately, and for all his increasingly desperate efforts, the giant could not get him back under control.

The giant’s horse broke away from the construction site and galloped into the woods. Loki needed to keep him away from the giant for the rest of the day, so she led him a merry chase through the trees. Thor, upon seeing that Loki’s plan had worked, nodded his satisfaction and went to rejoin the gods’ gathering.

\---

“Thor!” hissed Loki. “Thor!”

Thor grunted and rolled over. 

“Thor, you great lug, wake up! I need your help!”

Thor groaned and, moving as little as possible, looked at the foot of his bed, where Loki stood. “Loki…? What are you doing here, it’s too… nighttime for mischief...”

“Thor, wake _up_! I’m not actually here, can’t you tell the difference between my illusions and my self by now? I don’t need your help for mischief, this isn’t a trick, I just _need your help!_ ”

That seemed to wake Thor up a bit. “Your illusions have improved since our childhood, there’s no way to… you need my help? What for?” Thor sat up.

Loki ducked her head at the compliment, and tucked that information away for future trickery. “Listen, I’m sure you noticed how I did not return after luring the horse away, even after he returned to the giant?”

“Yeah, I had wondered...” Thor scrubbed at his face with one hand, trying to wake himself up. “What kept you?”

“Thor. Thor, my dearest brother, I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant with a horse’s baby, and stuck in a mare’s body until I give birth. I’m _pregnant,_ Thor.” Loki buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath. “I need your help, Thor. I have no idea how to take care of a pregnant horse! How am I going to survive, how am I going to keep the foal alive?”

Thor blinked, hard. His eyebrows slowly climbed skyward. He swung his legs off the side of his bed and started getting dressed.

“You ride horses all the time, same as the rest of us. How do you not know how to care for a pregnant mare?”

“Because I don’t interact with the pregnant ones, Thor!” snapped Loki, taking her face out of her hands to glare at her brother. “I ride a gelding to go hunting, or to tag along after you warrior types and cause trouble. I do not ride pregnant horses, I do not get in the way of the stablehands who take care of them, and I _certainly_ do not take care of them myself!”

“Well, _I_ know how to care for a pregnant mare… How do you know you are with child so soon after mating with the stallion?”

Loki rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, brother, like I do not know everything there is to know about my own body. I change its form often enough, I know when something has gone wrong. I tried to change back after the stallion returned to the giant, but I could feel something was not right, and it only took a moment of investigation to find out what it was. You know how to help me?”

Thor finished getting dressed and pulled on his cloak. “Yes, I know what you need and what to do. Tell me where you are. I just need to grab some supplies for you, and I will join you.”

Loki heaved a relieved sigh. “Thank you, brother. I’m in the clearing where you downed that gigantic boar last winter, do you remember? The one with the cave?”

Thor nodded. “I remember. Try to rest, sister. I will be there soon.” He left, practically running in his haste. The illusion of Loki’s presence dissolved silently into silver dust floating in the moonlight.

\---

Loki flicked their ear, annoyed. What was it about being a horse that attracted so many buzzing things to hover near their eyes and flanks? It wasn’t like they were an uncleanly horse, either – they took regular dust baths, and Thor gave them a good rubdown every time he stopped by. Then again… Thor hadn’t been by in a while. Longer than he had promised. Loki was annoyed by more than just the flies in their eyes.

As if summoned by the thought, Thor stepped into the clearing. He was not dressed in the casual manner he normally chose to visit his pregnant horse sibling in the woods, but in his armor, carrying Mjolnir. “Ho, Loki!” he called, hoisting the basket in his other hand. “I come bearing lunch! You have not filled up on forage, have you?”

Loki gave Thor a truly impressive side-eye. It was one of the few benefits to being stuck in the body of a pregnant horse for months on end. Then they very deliberately turned their back to Thor, raised their tail, and dropped some dung.

“What? Loki, what is wrong? Why are you angry at me?” Thor walked around to Loki’s head. Loki turned around again. Thor gave a frustrated huff.

“Is it because I am a little late in returning to visit you? I told you, I was going to Midgard with some friends. Since you want to keep your pregnancy a secret, I must continue to act like nothing is wrong, and that means a trip to Midgard or a raid on Jotunheim every once in a while. It was not intended as a slight –”

Loki spun on Thor, snapping their teeth together inches away from his face, and summoned an illusion of themself in Asgardian form. “Three weeks, Thor!”

Thor stopped short and took a step back, eyes wide. Loki, horse and Asgardian, flanked him. “You said that you would be back from Midgard in two days – that you would be certain to be back because we are not sure when I will be dropping my foal! You were gone for three weeks, leaving me alone with a clearing I cannot leave and a body I cannot change and nothing to eat but forage and nobody to speak with, uncertain of when I would _give birth_ or whether I would need help, but even if I did I would not be able to get it because you were gone for _three weeks!_ ”

Thor’s mouth gaped open. His eyes were wide. He made a choked noise that might have been an attempt to speak, but Loki kept going right over him. “Yet here you are, acting as if no time has passed, bearing food as if that will soothe all wounds! Wearing your armor as if you always wear it to visit your pregnant horse sibling in the woods, carrying Mjolnir as if it will help you if my foal drops during your visit! What in the name of the Allfather do you think you are doing, Thor? Is this just a game to you, another battlefield for a warrior to conquer without care? _Three weeks,_ Thor. Three weeks, by Valhalla!” Loki, Asgardian and horse, gave a snort of disgust and turned their back to Thor once more.

The clearing was silent, the ringing silence that follows a great deal of noise. When the silence stretched into minutes, Loki snorted again, dispelled their Asgardian illusion, and trotted to the other side of the clearing, where they moodily cropped at the small plants under a bush. Thor had a clear view of their belly, bulging with the small life soon to be.

Eventually, Thor cleared his throat. “Loki… sibling, I… I must apologize.”

Loki shook their head vigorously, but glared in Thor’s direction with one baleful eye.

“Truly, sibling, I am sorry. My deepest apologies to you. I… truly, truthfully, Loki, I only meant to stay on Midgard for a few days. Two, three at the most, but – I, we, got caught up in some human affairs, and… well, it had been a fortnight before I realized what had happened, and nearly another week longer before we managed to disentangle ourselves and bring the matter to something of a conclusion. I… I am wearing my armor, carrying Mjolnir, because I simply forgot to change and to put the hammer down. I came straight here from the Bifrost, this basket is full of food from Midgard that some humans gave me, I – truthfully, I do not even know what they put in here…” Thor glanced ruefully at the basket in his hand and gave a small laugh. It was a far cry from his usual full-throated roar of mirth.

Loki considered Thor. They did not give any indication what they thought of this apology, but they considered Thor, which was (in Thor’s opinion) much better than an outright rejection. The silence returned, as Thor and Loki regarded each other.

“Loki, do you… does it truly pain you so, to be unable to change forms?” Thor asked, hesitantly. “I had known that you shifted your shape often, but I remember when we were children, and you could not – it did not seem to bother you at all.”

Loki stared at Thor a moment longer, then gave a blustery whinny of a sigh and lowered their head. An Asgardian illusion of themself stepped out from behind them, and stood with their hand upon their own flank.

“When we were young, I could not control my form the way I can now,” said Loki quietly. “There is a difference between not doing something because you do not know how, or what you are missing, and because you must not do it. I have spent nearly nine months in the same form – a pregnant form, a form that I have seldom taken before and never with child. My gender changes daily, sometimes hourly, and I cannot shift my form to reflect it. I have no hands with which to practice with my daggers, nor eyes that are able to read books. I cannot shift into a form with claws, to protect myself when I hear animals I do not recognize, or a small form in which to hide. I cannot… there are no people out here, Thor. I am the God of Mischief, but I have played no tricks for so long. Were I to suddenly go into labor, I could not just call out and have ten maids come running. You are my only connection to a life I love living, Thor, and you just… disappeared, for three weeks.”

Thor was silent for a moment longer. He set down Mjolnir and the basket of food. He walked across the clearing and threw his arms around his sibling’s equine neck.

“I am truly, deeply sorry, Loki,” he said, muffled in Loki’s mane. “I know there is not much time left when you will be out here, but I will come visit every day until your foal is born.”

Loki closed his eyes and rested his chin on Thor’s back.

“Thank you, brother.”

\---

“His name is Slepnir,” declared Loki. He handed the lead rein to a stablehand, and bowed to Odin. “A gift for you, Allfather.”

Odin stood in the courtyard, eyebrows raised, and looked from Loki to Slepnir and back. “And where have you been, Loki, that both kept you away from the court for so long and led you to a foal with eight legs?”

Loki smiled. “Now, now, Father, that would be telling. If you will excuse me, it has been a long journey, and I have been thinking of my own bed with longing.” Loki gave Odin a short bow and walked into the palace without waiting for a response.

Thor was waiting for Loki near the entrance to his chambers. “Loki,” he said with a nod.

“Thor, brother, how wonderful to see you after so much time!” cried Loki. “Come into my chambers, we will share a drink and you can tell me of the doings of Asgard in my absence!” He swept through the door, waited for Thor to enter, and closed it firmly behind them both.

As Loki turned to face the room, the illusion fell away from his face. He transformed from a hearty, if travel-stained, young man into an exhausted mess of a person.

Thor examined Loki critically. “Brother, are you certain you are all right? Should you not have waited longer than a day after the birth to return to Asgard?”

Loki sank onto a couch and nodded his thanks when Thor handed him a cup of water. “I could not remain in that godsforsaken clearing for one more moment, Thor. Slepnir is a delight, but he is a foal, not an Asgardian, and I needed to be surrounded by Asgardians again. I needed to not be in a female body, and I needed to not be a _horse._ ” Loki shuddered. “I swear, brother, I will never be a horse again if I can help it. Do you know how delicate horses are? If they _lie down_ for too long, they die. I want to sleep without standing up, and I want to do it without hooves.”

“Well, and I suppose that’s all very well, but… handing Slepnir off to Father’s stablehands so soon? Do you not at least want to keep him for your own?” Loki’s eyes were closed, and Thor was studying him, brow furrowed.

Loki waved a hand lazily and let it drop back down. “I never wanted Slepnir in the first place. He will be well cared for in Father’s stables, and Father will gain a wonderful battlesteed when Slepnir is grown. Everyone gains something, and all that was lost is nine months of my own life. A small price to pay, in the grand scheme of things, and considering that I will likely live for several thousand more years at least...”

Loki trailed off. His hand slackened on his cup, and Thor just barely managed to grab it before it fell to the floor. A snore emanated from Loki’s open mouth. Thor smiled softly, carried his little brother to bed, and tucked him in.

\---

“ _Loki!_ ”

The roar was heard across Asgard. A great many people stopped and stared as Thor came running past them through the halls of the palace. Frigga, in her garden where Loki had played a long-ago trick on Thor involving a snake, smiled at the sound, absent for nearly a year.

“ _Loki, what is the meaning of this!_ ” Thor shouted, pounding on Loki’s chamber door. He yelped as the door suddenly opened and he fell through.

Loki laughed from his seat on top of a cabinet. “Why, brother, whatever is the matter? You look positively _blue!_ ”

Thor turned his face, a mask of anger, towards his brother. He would be flushed, furious as he was, but for the fact that his skin was tinged a wonderful sea blue. “I know you did this, Loki!” he cried, springing up from the floor. “Turn me back at once!”

Loki shook his head, face a mask of sorrow. “I’m sure I don’t know what has happened to you, brother mine. Besides, if I did, I would know that _that_ is a non-magical dye, guaranteed to last for three washings or a month – whichever comes sooner!” Loki burst into laughter once more, holding his stomach as if that could stopper his mirth.

Thor growled his rage and lunged towards Loki, arms outstretched – and fell to the floor again, having passed straight through the illusion of his brother.

Loki’s voice seemed to come from everywhere. “Catch me if you can, brother! If you do, perhaps I will tell you how I got you to apply that dye yourself!”

Thor barreled out the door and down the hall. “ _I’ll get you for this, Loki!_ ” he called, fading into the distance. “ _I will find out where you are hiding and I will **get you!**_ ”


End file.
